Fire Emblem: Three Houses gives you a lot of ways you can bond with your students and other faculty members, from choir practice to sharing meals. The one that’s getting a lot of attention, though, is tea time, also called tea parties. This guide covers how to unlock tea time, as well as how it works and all responses for the Black Eagles.
Despite being a fairly simple idea, there’s actually quite a bit involved in tea time. Let’s get started.
Be sure to head to the links at the bottom of this guide for tea time answers for the Blue Lions, the Golden Deer, and the Church of Seiros.
How to Unlock Tea Time
There’s a very specific way to unlock tea time and a formula to follow for getting it right. First, though, you’ll need to start the Tea for Two quest in Chapter 2, Blue Rain Moon.
Ferdinand asks you to give away a spare tea set to someone who might appreciate it, and that someone is Lorenz. Once you finish the quest, you’ve unlocked the ability to ask your students, students from other Houses, and faculty members to attend a tea party with you.
You can only initially ask students from your own House. You have to have recruited or earned a C-rank support level with other students and faculty to unlock tea time for them.
Tea time’s uses are very specific as well and might not be incredibly useful until after Chapter 5 when you’ve raised your Professor ranking to at least C. That’s because it costs one Activity Point and only lets you bond with one person, unlike sharing a meal.
However, a successful tea time offers a considerable boost to your support points with that person. That makes it ideal for cultivating relationships with students from other Houses. You can use it to achieve B-rank or higher and recruit them.
How Tea Time Works
The idea is to choose a specific tea the other person likes, then pick conversation topics you think they’ll be interested in based on their personalities.
You get three attempts at conversation. If you miss two, the party is over. If you get all three correct, you get a fourth option where you choose an action based on what the other person said.
Each correct answer gains a support point, and a perfect tea time gains double.
Finally, if you choose their favorite tea, you get a special bonus that negates an incorrect choice.
How to Find Tea
Teas are blue, glowing spots in the Monastery. Finding them is completely random, but you can also buy them from merchants. The downside to buying them is the price, though it’s also the best way to get some of the rarer teas, should you want to try and give everyone their favorites.
So Many Choices
The thing to keep in mind about Three Houses’ tea time mechanic is that it’s completely, unrepentantly random.
When gathering intel on the correct responses, I chose the same save file and re-loaded after using all of my Activity Points. In most cases, some people who agreed to attend the first time would refuse the second time. Support rankings don’t seem to have any bearing on this either; it’s pure RNG.
How many times they’ll attend is random as well. In some cases, I’d spend five activity points on one person after failing each tea time, when they’d be done after one successful tea party on the next save file.
Most important of all, which topics pop up for you during tea time is random.
That even applies to the special fourth conversation topic that uses a pre-scripted line from your tea partner. It seems like most characters have at least two of those, but whether you ever see them is another story entirely. Some change each time you attend a tea party with them, while others will stick to the same one for three or four consecutive tea parties.
Another thing I noticed with these fourth topics is that they don’t always have the same response choices, making it very difficult to pin down which is the correct choice each time.
The most difficult thing, though, is figuring out which conversation topic is the “correct” one in a given set of topics. Mostly, they correspond to the other person’s personality, but it’s often subtle.
For instance, Linhardt hates the dining hall food, so he’s not interested in talking about it. Hanneman hates cooking for himself, so he is interested in the dining hall food because he doesn’t have to make it.
Unless you’re keeping notes about everyone’s varied interests, it’s difficult to know for sure which choice is right, let alone choose it in less than 15 seconds.
What follows is something to make that easier. We’ve gathered everyone’s favorite teas and a comprehensive list of the correct conversation topics.
All Black Eagles Tea Time Responses
We’ve listed each character, followed by their favorite tea, the correct conversation topics, and then the potential fourth conversation point and the correct responses for each.
Edelgard
- Favorite tea:
- Bergamot
- Correct conversation topics:
- The existence of Crests
- A strong battalion
- Tell me about yourself
- I heard some gossip
- A word of advice
- A new gambit
- Hopes for your future
- Thanks for everything
- Gifts you’d like to receive
- I’m counting on you
- The opera
- The ideal professor
- Classes you might enjoy
- Our first meeting
- Close calls
- Dreaming of lazy days
- Overcoming weaknesses
- Things that bother you
- The last battle
- The view from the bridge
- Monastery rules
- Monastery security
- Monastery mysteries
- Books you’ve read recently
- Cats
- Capable comrades
- Fodlan’s future
- Equipment upkeep
- Your ambitions
- You seem different
- Things you find romantic
- School days
- School uniforms
- Exploring the monastery
- Favorite sweets
- Past laughs
- Evaluating allies
- Plans for the future
- Fourth conversation point and correct responses:
- Not born to Hresvelg: Laugh, Praise
- Upsets Hubert: Nod, Laugh
- Relaxation: Sip Tea, Blush
- Calm: Disagree, Sigh, Sip Tea
Hubert
- Favorite tea:
- Dagda Fruit, Cinnamon Blend
- Correct conversation topics:
- Monastery mysteries
- Monastery security
- Monastery rules
- Your ambitions
- Working together
- Close calls
- Evaluating allies
- Fodlan’s future
- Successful plots
- A new gambit
- A place you’d like to visit
- Guessing someone’s age
- I’m counting on you
- Reliable allies
- Someone you look up to
- Mighty weapons
- Books you’ve read recently
- The library’s collection
- Someone you look up to
- Fourth conversation point and correct responses:
- Head of House Vestra: Commend, Praise
- Not a waste of time: Sigh, Sip Tea
- Bored and depressed: Disagree, Admonish, Praise
- Precognition: Disagree, Sip Tea
- Eternal gratitude: Nod, Blush
Petra
- Favorite tea:
- Four-Spice Blend, Ginger Tea
- Correct conversation topics:
- Swimming in the ocean
- Strange fish in the pond
- Heart-racing memories
- Potential training partners
- Thanks for everything
- Relaxing at the sauna
- Likeable allies
- Close calls
- Someone you look up to
- A new gambit
- A dinner invitation
- The last battle
- Hopes for your future
- Tell me about yourself
- The ideal relationship
- A word of advice
- Books you’ve read recently
- A strong battalion
- The library’s collection
- Monastery rules
- Monastery mysteries
- Mighty weapons
- Capable comrades
- Cats
- Classes you might enjoy
- The view from the bridge
- Evaluating allies
- Fodlan’s future
- School days
- You’re doing great work
- Working together
- You seem different
- Fashion
- Exploring the monastery
- Past laughs
- Gifts you’d like to receive
- Shareable snacks
- Your ambitions
- Working hours for guards
- Things you find romantic
- Fourth conversation point and correct responses:
- The ocean is far…: Sigh, Praise
- Show you Brigid: Nod, Blush
- Great pleasure: Sip Tea, Blush
- In Enbarr…: Sigh, Praise
- Much sleep: Laugh, Admonish
Linhardt
- Favorite tea:
- Almyran Pine Needles, Angelica Tea
- Correct conversation topics:
- A dinner invitation
- Gifts you’d like to receive
- Monastery mysteries
- I heard some gossip
- A place you’d like to visit
- The existence of Crests
- The library’s collection
- Past laughs
- Overcoming weaknesses
- Capable comrades
- Cats
- Exploring the monastery
- Things that bother you
- Books you’ve ready recently
- Thanks for everything
- The art of napping
- The view from the bridge
- Working hours for guards
- Plans for the future
- Our first meeting
- Past laughs
- Tell me about yourself
- A word of advice
- Favorite sweets
- Strange fish in the pond
- Gardening mishaps
- Fourth conversation point and correct responses:
- Wake me if I fall asleep: Admonish, Sip Tea
- Crest’s power: Admonish, Chat
- Librarian job: Nod, Praise
- Crest of Flames: Commend
- Relics and Crests: Nod, Commend, Chat
Bernadetta
- Favorite teas:
- Albinean Berry Blend
- Honeyed Fruit Blend
- Correct conversation topics:
- A word of advice
- I’m counting on you
- Thanks for everything
- The ideal relationship
- The last battle
- Our first meeting
- Likeable allies
- Overcoming weaknesses
- Children at the market
- Cats
- Close calls
- A place you’d like to visit
- The library’s collection
- Past laughs
- Insectivorous plants
- I heard some gossip
- The courtyard couple
- The view from the bridge
- Cooking mishaps
- Plans for the future
- You seem different
- You seem well
- You’re doing great work
- Things that bother you
- Perfect recipes
- Things you find romantic
- Cute monks
- Exploring the monastery
- Fashion
- School days
- School uniforms
- Favorite sweets
- Tell me about yourself
- Gifts you’d like to receive
- Food in the dining hall
- Shareable snacks
- Fourth conversation point and correct responses:
- Mom’s a genius: Laugh, Commend
- Spoiling me: Admonish, Praise
- Sewing kit: Nod
- Recluses together: Laugh, Chat
- Greenhouse: Nod
- Going to be punished: Admonish
- Eavesdropping: Nod, Praise
Dorothea
- Favorite teas:
- Sweet Apple Blend
- Albinean Berry Blend
- Correct conversation topics:
- The opera
- Things that bother you
- Past laughs
- I heard some gossip
- A new gambit
- A dinner invitation
- Tell me about yourself
- Likeable allies
- Cute monks
- Close calls
- Dining partners
- Dreamy knights
- Monastery rules
- I’m counting on you
- The courtyard couple
- The melody of words
- Our first meeting
- First crushes
- Books you’ve read recently
- The ideal relationship
- Fashion
- School uniforms
- You seem well
- You seem different
- Things you find romantic
- Working together
- You’re doing great work
- Someone you look up to
- Heart-racing memories
- Exploring the monastery
- Evaluating allies
- Relaxing at the sauna
- Plans for the future
- School days
- Gifts you’d like to receive
- Potential training partners
- Working hours for guards
- Hopes for your future
- Strange fish in the pond
- Fourth conversation point and correct responses:
- Noble pilgrimage: Disagree, Sip Tea
- Open-minded professor: Laugh, Sip Tea, Blush
- Stronger attraction: Nod, Chat
- Vain men: Laugh, Chat, Sip Tea
Caspar
- Favorite tea:
- Ginger
- Correct conversation topics:
- Gardening mishaps
- A dinner invitation
- Someone you look up to
- Hopes for your future
- The last battle
- A new gambit
- A place you’d like to visit
- Cats
- Children at the market
- I’m counting on you
- Tell me about yourself
- Thanks for everything
- A strong battalion
- Mighty weapons
- Our first meeting
- The view from the bridge
- Things that bother you
- Working hours for guards
- Overcoming weaknesses
- Working together
- Past laughs
- Perfect recipes
- Close calls
- Classes you might enjoy
- A word of advice
- Equipment upkeep
- Plans for the future
- Your ambitions
- Relaxing at the sauna
- Shareable snacks
- Exploring the monastery
- Food in the dining hall
- You’re doing great work
- Dreamy knights
- Cooking mishaps
- Potential training partners
- You seem well
- Fourth conversation point and correct responses:
- I feel stuck: Praise
- What is Justice? Commend, Chat
- Getting hungry: Laugh, Sigh
- Beat you: Disagree, Blush
- Hard work: Commend, Praise
- Count on you: Nod, Laugh, Blush
Ferdinand
- Favorite teas:
- Almyran Pine Needles
- Seiros Tea
- Southern Fruit Blend
- Correct conversation topics:
- Food in the dining hall
- Thanks for everything
- The existence of Crests
- A dinner invitation
- Tell me about yourself
- A strong battalion
- Heart-racing memories
- Hopes for your future
- Gifts you’d like to receive
- The ideal professor
- Children at the market
- Classes you might enjoy
- I’m counting on you
- I heard some gossip
- The last battle
- Close calls
- Capable comrades
- The meaning of nobility
- The ideal relationship
- A word of advice
- Hopes for your future
- Past laughs
- Potential training partners
- You seem well
- You seem different
- Equipment upkeep
- Evaluating allies
- Dining partners
- Cute monks
- Likeable allies
- Things you find romantic
- The opera
- Cooking mishaps
- Dreamy knights
- Working together
- Things that bother you
- Plans for the future
- Monastery rules
- Mighty weapons
- Relaxing at the sauna
- Exploring the monastery
- First crushes
- School uniforms
- Your ambitions
- You’re doing great work
- Someone you look up to
- School days
- Fodlan’s future
- Fourth conversation point and correct responses:
- Loved riding horses: Disagree, Blush
- Making people comfortable: Disagree, Blush
- Nobles and commoners in love: Nod, Commend, Chat
- True noble: Sigh, Praise, Chat
- Treat everyone the same: Commend, Praise, Blush
- Versatile: Laugh, Disagree, Praise
- Sword of Creator: Chat, Nod
- Remember me: Sip Tea, Blush
—
That’s it for the Black Eagles tea time answers guide. If you’re looking for the right topics for other Houses, check out our tea time guides on the Blue Lions, Golden Deer, and Church of Seiros, as well as our other Three Houses guides.
